Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Buses

Road Pricing and Public Transit: The “Virtuous Cycle”

610421835_34abec7650.jpg
Pricing could un-block the box for buses, and then some.

In an op-ed published yesterday in Metro, MTA chief Lee Sander emphasized the connection between congestion pricing and
improved subway and bus service, which polls continue to suggest is the key to securing public support. Sander's piece joins reports that officials are working on plans to create a transit "lock box" for pricing revenue.

Making his case, Sander brought to the surface an idea that's been percolating among policy experts for some time: the "virtuous cycle."

[Congestion pricing] would speed trips for bus riders and make each bus less expensive to operate. Right now, when MTA buses are stuck idling in traffic, we must spend money on excess fuel and overtime for drivers. By decongesting the streets not just in Manhattan but throughout the city, as commuters from all the boroughs leave their cars at home congestion pricing would make travel times for bus riders faster. That leads to a virtuous cycle. As traffic is reduced, buses become faster. Faster buses attract more riders out of their cars, which reduces traffic further.

Transportation Alternatives director Paul Steely White introduced this concept to New Yorkers last May on the DMI Blog, noting that pricing will improve bus commutes right away:

In removing many of the cars that block buses, and by making it easier to reprogram car lanes into bus lanes (such as the new bus lanes proposed for the Queensboro and Williamsburg bridges), the bus boosting benefits of congestion pricing will be felt immediately. What's more, speedier buses, as in London [pdf], will set off a "virtuous cycle" of less driving and more bus ridership leading to decreased bus operation costs per rider and in turn encouraging more service, lower fares, more bus riders and fewer drivers getting in their way.

The paper White linked to -- Kenneth Small's "Unnoticed Lessons from London: Road Pricing and Public Transit" (download it) -- provides a rigorous academic explanation of the virtuous cycle effect. In a piece of tantalizing extrapolation, Small projects the effect of congestion pricing on bus ridership in a typical American city:

Ridership goes up 31 percent and average user cost falls more than 100 percent of the initial fare. Fares can bereduced 26 percent, despite a 21 percent increase in service whose fares cover less than average cost; these reduced fares are possible because of higher bus occupancy (due to patronage rising faster than vehicle-miles) and lower driver costs (due to faster trips). 

Photo: joeaverage/Flickr

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

BIG ZERO: Trump Stiffs MTA in ‘Sanctuary City’ Tantrum

The federal government is denying the MTA tens of millions of dollars in public safety funding over of New York's immigration policies.

September 30, 2025

Gale’s A-Blowin’: Brewer Abandons Daylighting Bill After Push By Parking-First DOT

DOT's anti-daylighting "scare tactics" have peeled off Council Member Gale Brewer, who says the policy will gobble up too many parking spots.

September 30, 2025

DATA: Not Paying Fines? Keep Speeding, Says New York City

It's yet another case of "anything goes" for drivers in Adams's New York.

September 30, 2025

Bike Data Shows Huge Demand on Vanderbilt Ave. As Adams Administration Dithers

New stats show an immediate need for bike infrastructure on the crucial north-south connector.

September 30, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines: Fuel for Thought Edition

Forgive us if we're not jumping for joy that the city fleet is using less fossil fuel. Yes, it's a good trend, but cars are still cars. Plus other news.

September 30, 2025

Scofflaws Beware! Hoboken to Launch Automated Parking Enforcement

New York City should take note of what is going on in a city that has not had a traffic fatality since 2017.

September 29, 2025
See all posts